Inkjet printers form a printed image by ejecting or “jetting” droplets of liquid ink onto an image receiving surface, such as an intermediate transfer surface or a media substrate. The benefits of inkjet printing include low printing noise, low cost per printed page, and the ability to print “full color” images. Inkjet printers typically include a printhead and a printhead controller. The printhead controller, among other functions, sends ejection signals to the printhead. The ejection signals cause the printhead to eject droplets of liquid ink upon an image receiving surface to form at least a portion of a printed image.
In general, the printhead of an inkjet printer includes a plurality of ink ejectors and at least one reservoir for containing a supply of ink. Specifically, a monochromatic inkjet printhead may include a single reservoir for containing a single color of ink. A full color inkjet printhead may include a plurality of reservoirs, with each reservoir configured to contain a different color of ink. The ink ejectors eject very small droplets of the ink onto an image receiving surface in response to receiving an ejection signal from the printhead controller. Often, a group of one hundred to six hundred individual ink ejectors are coupled by a manifold to a reservoir. In particular, a monochromatic printhead may include a single group of ink ejectors fluidly coupled to the single reservoir, while a full color printhead may include a separate group of ink ejectors for each of the reservoirs. Thus, a full color printhead having four reservoirs may have four distinct groups of ink ejectors, each being coupled to a different ink reservoir.
The ink ejectors of some inkjet printers eject ink droplets having a fixed mass. The ejected ink droplets, therefore, form regions of ink upon an image receiving surface that have an approximately fixed area. In some instances, it would be advantageous to control the area of the regions of ink formed by the ink droplets ejected upon the image receiving surface. Consequently, further developments in the area of inkjet printheads are desirable.